A typical loading dock of a building includes an exterior doorway with an elevated platform for loading and unloading vehicles, such as trucks and trailers. To compensate for height differences between the loading dock platform and an adjacent bed of a truck or trailer, many loading docks have a dock leveler. A typical dock leveler includes a deck or ramp that is pivotally hinged along its back edge to vary the height of its front edge. An extension plate or lip extends outward from the deck's front edge to span the gap between the rear of the truck bed and the front edge of the deck.
The deck is usually moveable between a stored position and an operative position. Depending on the style of dock leveler, the deck may store either vertically or horizontally. U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,268 shows an example of a horizontally storing deck, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,676 discloses a dock leveler with a vertically storing deck. In either case, the lip in the operative position extends from the deck's front edge and rests upon the trailer bed to form a bridge between the two. This allows personnel and material handling equipment to readily move on and off the vehicle during loading and unloading operations.
If the truck or trailer is enclosed, as opposed to being an open flat bed trailer, the inside of the trailer can be quite dark, making it difficult to see deep inside the trailer. So, articulated fight fixtures pointing into the trailer are often installed near the doorway of building. But since these fixtures protrude into the doorway, they can interfere with the operation of the door and are susceptible to being struck by forklifts entering and leaving the trailer. Moreover, when such fixtures are used with vertically storing dock levelers, the deck with its broad sweeping motion might tear the fixture completely off its mounting base.
Although some forklifts have headlights for looking into the trailer, it can still be difficult to back out of the trailer without driving off the side of the dock leveler's deck or possibly backing into a nearby pedestrian or other traffic in the building. Consequently, a need exists for a better way of not only illuminating the inside of a trailer but also for illuminating the dock leveler deck and surrounding area.